Captain Atom #1 (New 52)

I've been a fan of Captain Atom since the late 80's reboot of the character and his subsequant runs on Justice League Europe and recently Justice League: Generation Lost. He's had more than a few ups-and-downs in his career including his unfortunate role as Monarch, that awful golden and red look, and that time he got lost in the WildStorm Universe.

The latest reinterpretation of the Charlton Comics character by writer J.T. Krul is a new version of the character far more like the Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan (who was coincidentally created from the Charlton version of Captain Atom) than we've seen before.

In the comic Captain Atom's powers are expanding as he discovers the ability to manipulate molecules outside of himself. Our hero is informed by Dr. Heinrich Megala, the scientist in charge of the project that transformed Nathaniel Adam into a nuclear-powered super-hero, that this ability, which in turn effects his own molecules, could end up killing him.

This version of Captain Atom certainly isn't going to be for everyone, but the comic does add something different to the character and give him new storylines to explore. Personally, I'd like the character to be a little more solid than the wispy, somewhat ethereal version we see in artist Fernando Pasarin's art. But then again I guess I should just feel lucky DC didn't redesign him back to his WildStorm look. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]